Morrissey Escorted Off Stage After Fans Attacked, Manager Says Incident ‘Wasn’t Malicious’

English singer-songwriter Morrissey was mobbed by fans during the encore of his concert at Copley Symphony Hall in San Diego on Saturday, November 10, according to TMZ. Concertgoers jumped onto the stage and closely surrounded Morrissey, prompting security to escort the performer off stage. One fan reportedly struck Morrissey in the face during the incident.

The former Smiths frontman was singing his 1988 hit, “Every Day Is Like Sunday,” when two fans made it onto the stage. Footage of the incident showed Morrissey reaching his hand out to touch these concertgoers as security pulled them away, according to Pitchfork. While Morrissey was paying attention to the guards on his right, several fans from the left stormed the stage and tackled him. The man who struck Morrissey in the face was removed from the stage in a chokehold.

The singer did not return to the stage after the incident. He also did not stick around for a meet-and-greet, which he usually does after performances.

Morrissey’s manager, Peter Katsis, released a statement on social media the next day regarding the incident. According to a post on the Morrissey Official Facebook page, the fans were only trying to touch Morrissey and hug him, not attack him. Katsis said that no one punched Morrissey. He also confirmed that no one was hurt or arrested during the incident.

“Morrissey’s fans are not malicious…The fan in question was certainly more aggressive in reaching out for him than most, so security had to do their job and subdue the fan,” Katsis said.

Several fans commented on the Facebook post, some of whom attended the concert. One of the top comments was made by Carlos Rodriguez, who claimed to be responsible for the alleged attack, according to Independent.

Rodriguez thanked Katsis for clearing everything up. He also admitted that he did look as though he was attacking in the moment, but it was because of the momentum he needed to get onto the stage.

“I hugged him, Moz laughed and I was head locked. End of story,” Rodriguez’s comment read.

Some commenters thanked and praised Rodriguez for coming forward, but others shamed him for being the reason that Morrissey ended his concert so suddenly.

“You ruined the song for everyone, he was feeling that song and so was everyone else. Your childish shenanigans are not appreciated. Shows disrespect for Morrissey and his fans,” one person wrote.

Morrissey has just over a week to reflect on the incident before heading to his next show in Mexico City, according to Consequence of Sound. There is no word on if he will increase security for upcoming performances.